Quarterly Financial Data (Schedule of Quarterly Financial Data) (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Feb. 02, 2019		Nov. 03, 2018		Aug. 04, 2018		May 05, 2018		Feb. 03, 2018		Oct. 28, 2017		Jul. 29, 2017		Apr. 29, 2017		Feb. 02, 2019	Feb. 03, 2018	Jan. 28, 2017
Net sales	$ 720,263,000		$ 775,829,000		$ 706,612,000		$ 632,142,000		$ 702,465,000		$ 774,656,000		$ 676,954,000		$ 631,509,000		$ 2,834,846,000	$ 2,785,584,000	$ 2,579,388,000
Gross profit	277,712,000		310,610,000		293,101,000		274,921,000		293,395,000		316,885,000		287,461,000		270,908,000		1,156,344,000	1,168,649,000	1,061,991,000
Net (loss) earnings	(75,427,000)	[1]	29,155,000	[1]	23,611,000	[1]	17,180,000	[1]	20,301,000	[2]	34,373,000	[2]	17,674,000	[2]	14,884,000	[2]	(5,481,000)	87,231,000	66,086,000
Net (loss) earnings attributable to Caleres, Inc.	$ (75,452,000)	[1]	$ 29,153,000	[1]	$ 23,646,000	[1]	$ 17,212,000	[1]	$ 20,316,000	[2]	$ 34,387,000	[2]	$ 17,595,000	[2]	$ 14,902,000	[2]	$ (5,441,000)	$ 87,200,000	$ 65,658,000
Earnings (loss) per share, basic	$ (1.83)	[3]	$ 0.68	[3]	$ 0.55	[3]	$ 0.40	[3]	$ 0.47	[4]	$ 0.80	[4]	$ 0.41	[4]	$ 0.35	[4]	$ (0.13)	$ 2.03	$ 1.52
Earnings (loss) per share, diluted	(1.83)	[3]	0.67	[3]	0.55	[3]	0.40	[3]	0.47	[4]	0.80	[4]	0.41	[4]	0.35	[4]	(0.13)	2.02	1.52
Dividends paid	0.07		0.07		0.07		0.07		0.07		0.07		0.07		0.07		$ 0.28	0.28	$ 0.28
Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets, after tax																	$ 83,000,000
Maximum
Market value	37.82		41.09		37.06		36.00		34.34		31.27		29.11		32.83		$ 37.82	34.34
Minimum
Market value	$ 26.63		$ 31.84		$ 32.18		$ 27.10		$ 26.54		$ 22.39		$ 24.45		$ 24.86		$ 26.63	$ 26.54
Restructuring and other special charges, net | Allen Edmonds
Restructuring And Related Cost Incurred Cost After Tax	$ 4,700,000												$ 1,900,000		$ 700,000		$ 4,300,000	$ 2,600,000	$ 5,000,000
Brand Portfolio
Net sales																	1,228,038,000	1,147,957,000	989,323,000
Brand Portfolio | Cost of goods sold | Allen Edmonds
Business Combination, Acquisition Amortization of Inventory Fair Value Adjustment, Net of Tax	$ 6,100,000																	3,000,000	700,000
Business Combination, Acquisition Amortization of Inventory Fair Value Adjustment													$ 1,100,000		$ 1,900,000			4,900,000	1,200,000
Other Restructuring
Restructuring And Related Cost Incurred Cost After Tax																		300,000
Other Restructuring | Restructuring and other special charges, net
Restructuring And Related Cost Incurred Cost After Tax									$ 7,000,000
Other Restructuring | Brand Portfolio
Restructuring And Related Cost Incurred Cost After Tax																			$ 3,300,000
Employee Severance
Restructuring And Related Cost Incurred Cost After Tax																	$ 300,000	$ 600,000

[1] The fourth quarter of 2018 reflects impairment of goodwill and intangible assets of $83.0 million on an after-tax basis, as further described in Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements, the impact of amortization of the inventory fair value adjustments required for purchase accounting of $6.1 million on an after-tax basis, as further described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, and several restructuring and other charges totaling $4.7 million, on an after-tax basis, as further described in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements.

[2] The first and second quarters of 2017 reflect the impact of amortization of the inventory fair value adjustment required for purchase accounting of $1.9 million and $1.1 million, respectively, on an after-tax basis, as further described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements and several restructuring and other charges totaling$0.7 million and $1.9 million, respectively, on an after-tax basis, as further described in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements. The fourth quarter of 2017 reflects restructuring charges totaling $0.6 million, on an after-tax basis, as further described in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements and the benefit of income tax reform of $0.3 million, as further described in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements.

[3] EPS for the quarters may not sum to the annual amount as each period is computed on a discrete period basis.

[4] EPS for the quarters may not sum to the annual amount as each period is computed on a discrete period basis.