Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	9 Months Ended
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	Oct. 28, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Nature of Operations	Nature of Operations Genesco Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the "Company") business includes the sourcing and design, marketing and distribution of footwear and accessories through retail stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada primarily under the Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Shi by Journeys, Little Burgundy and Johnston & Murphy banners and under the Schuh banner in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Germany; through catalogs and e-commerce websites including the following: journeys.com, journeyskidz.com, journeys.ca, shibyjourneys.com, schuh.co.uk, littleburgundyshoes.com, johnstonmurphy.com and trask.com, and at wholesale, primarily under the Company's Johnston & Murphy brand, the Trask brand, the licensed Dockers brand and other brands that the Company licenses for footwear. The Company's business also includes Lids Sports Group, which operates headwear and accessory stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada primarily under the Lids banner; the Lids Locker Room and Lids Clubhouse businesses, consisting of sports-oriented fan shops featuring a broad array of licensed merchandise such as apparel, hats and accessories, sports decor and novelty products, operating under various trade names; licensed team merchandise departments in Macy's department stores operated under the name Locker Room by Lidsand on macys.com, under a license agreement with Macy's; certain e-commerce operations including lids.com, lids.ca, lidslockerroom.com and lidsclubhouse.com. Including both the footwear businesses and the Lids Sports Group business, at October 28, 2017, the Company operated 2,727 retail stores and leased departments in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Germany. During the nine months ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, the Company operated five reportable business segments (not including corporate): (i) Journeys Group, comprised of the Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Shi by Journeys and Little Burgundy retail footwear chains, e-commerce and catalog operations; (ii) Schuh Group, comprised of the Schuh retail footwear chain and e-commerce operations; (iii) Lids Sports Group, comprised as described in the preceding paragraph; (iv) Johnston & Murphy Group, comprised of Johnston & Murphy retail operations, e-commerce and catalog operations and wholesale distribution of products under the Johnston & Murphy^®and H. S. Trask^® brands; and (v) Licensed Brands, comprised of Dockers^® Footwear, sourced and marketed under a license from Levi Strauss & Company; SureGrip^®Footwear, which was sold in Note 1 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, Continued the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2017; G.H. Bass Footwear operated under a license from G-III Apparel Group, Ltd.; and other brands.
Principles of Consolidation	Principles of Consolidation All subsidiaries are consolidated in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated.
Financial Statement Reclassifications	Financial Statement Reclassifications Certain reclassifications have been made to conform prior years' data to the current year presentation with respect to fixed assets.
Cash and Cash Equivalents	The Company's strategic plan does not require the repatriation of foreign cash in order to fund its operations in the U.S., and it is the Company's current intention to indefinitely reinvest its foreign cash and cash equivalents outside of the U.S. If the Company were to repatriate foreign cash to the U.S., it would be required to accrue and pay U.S. taxes in accordance with applicable U.S. tax rules and regulations as a result of the repatriation. There were no cash equivalents included in cash and cash equivalents at October 28, 2017, January 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016. Cash equivalents are highly-liquid financial instruments having an original maturity of three months or less. At October 28, 2017, substantially all of the Company’s domestic cash was invested in deposit accounts at FDIC-insured banks. The majority of payments due from banks for domestic customer credit card transactions process within 24 - 48 hours and are accordingly classified as cash and cash equivalents in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Concentration of Credit Risk and Allowances on Accounts Receivable	Concentration of Credit Risk and Allowances on Accounts Receivable The Company’s footwear wholesale businesses sell primarily to department stores and independent retailers across the United States. Receivables arising from these sales are not collateralized. Customer credit risk is affected by conditions or occurrences within the economy and the retail industry as well as by customer specific factors. In the footwear wholesale businesses, one customer accounted for 17%, one customer accounted for 8% and two customers each accounted for 7% of the Company’s total trade receivables balance, while no other customer accounted for more than 7% of the Company’s total trade receivables balance as of October 28, 2017.
Leases	Leases The Company occasionally receives reimbursements from landlords to be used towards construction of the store the Company intends to lease. Leasehold improvements are recorded at their gross costs including items reimbursed by landlords. The reimbursements are amortized as a reduction of rent expense over the initial lease term.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments	Debt fair values were estimated using a discounted cash flow analysis based on current market interest rates for similar types of financial instruments and would be classified in Level 2 as defined in Note 5. Carrying amounts reported on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets for cash, cash equivalents, receivables and accounts payable approximate fair value due to the short-term maturity of these instruments.
Selling and Administrative Expenses	Selling and Administrative Expenses Selling and administrative expenses include all operating costs of the Company excluding (i) those related to the transportation of products from the supplier to the warehouse, (ii) for its retail operations, those related to the transportation of products from the warehouse to the store and (iii) costs of its distribution facilities which are allocated to its retail operations.
Gift Cards	Gift Cards Gift card breakage is recognized in revenues each period for which financial statements are updated.
Buying, Merchandising and Occupancy Costs	Buying, Merchandising and Occupancy Costs The Company records buying, merchandising and occupancy costs in selling and administrative expense on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Because the Company does not include these costs in cost of sales, the Company’s gross margin may not be comparable to other retailers that include these costs in the calculation of gross margin.
Advertising Costs	Advertising Costs Advertising costs are predominantly expensed as incurred. Advertising costs were $20.3 million and $18.2 million for the third quarters of Fiscal 2018 and Fiscal 2017, respectively, and $56.8 million and $50.6 million for the first nine months of Fiscal 2018 and 2017, respectively. Direct response advertising costs for catalogs are capitalized in accordance with the Other Assets and Deferred Costs Topic for Capitalized Advertising Costs of the Codification. Such costs are amortized over the estimated future period as revenues are realized from such advertising, not to exceed six months.
Foreign Currency Translation	Foreign Currency Translation The functional currency of the Company's foreign operations is the applicable local currency. The translation of the applicable foreign currency into U.S. dollars is performed for balance sheet accounts using current exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date. Income and expense accounts are translated at monthly average exchange rates. The unearned gains and losses resulting from such translation are included as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive loss within shareholders' equity.
Other Comprehensive Income	Other Comprehensive Income The Comprehensive Income Topic of the Codification requires, among other things, the Company’s pension liability adjustment, postretirement liability adjustment and foreign currency translation adjustments to be included in other comprehensive income net of tax.
New Accounting Pronouncements	New Accounting Pronouncements New Accounting Pronouncements Recently Adopted In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment.” ASU 2017-04 simplifies the measurement of goodwill by eliminating the second step from the goodwill impairment test, which requires the comparison of the implied fair value of goodwill with the current carrying amount of goodwill. Instead, under the amendments in this guidance, an entity shall perform a goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of each reporting unit with its carrying amount and an impairment charge is to be recorded for the amount, if any, in which the carrying value exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. This guidance should be applied prospectively and is effective for public business entities that are United States Securities and Exchange Commission filers for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed after January 1, 2017. The Company adopted ASU 2017-04 in the first quarter of Fiscal 2018, and the Company measured goodwill impairment in the third quarter of Fiscal 2018 under the provisions of ASC 350, "Intangibles - Goodwill and Other" ("ASC 350"). In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, “Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting”. The update addresses several aspects of the accounting for share-based compensation transactions including: (a) income tax consequences when awards vest or are settled, (b) classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, (c) a policy election to account for forfeitures as they occur rather than on an estimated basis and (d) classification of excess tax impacts on the statement of cash flows. The inclusion of excess tax benefits and deficiencies as a component of the Company's income tax expense will increase volatility within its provision for income taxes as the amount of excess tax benefits or deficiencies from share-based compensation awards is dependent on the Company's stock price at the date the awards are exercised or settled which is primarily in the second quarter of each fiscal year. The Company adopted ASU 2016-09 in the first quarter of Fiscal 2018. Earnings per share decreased $0.11 per share for the nine months ended October 28, 2017 due to the impact of ASU 2016-09. The Company reclassified $3.4 million from operating activities to financing activities on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for nine months ended October 29, 2016 representing the value of the shares withheld for taxes on the vesting of restricted stock. Note 1 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, Continued If the Company had adopted the standard in Fiscal 2017, reported earnings per share would have decreased $0.03 per share for Fiscal 2017. In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-17, "Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes". ASU 2015-17 requires that all deferred tax assets and liabilities, along with any related valuation allowance, be classified as noncurrent on the balance sheet. The Company adopted ASU 2015-17 in the first quarter of Fiscal 2018 under the retrospective approach and, as such, the Company reclassified $21.2 million and $23.9 million of deferred taxes from current to noncurrent on its Consolidated Balance Sheets as of January 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, respectively. In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-11, "Inventory (Topic 330): Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory." ASU 2015-11 requires an entity that determines the cost of inventory by methods other than last-in, first-out and the retail inventory method to measure inventory at the lower of cost and net realizable value. The Company adopted ASU 2015-11 in the first quarter of Fiscal 2018 and it did not have a material impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures. New Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-07, "Compensation - Retirement Benefits (Topic 715)". The standard requires the sponsors of benefit plans to present service cost in the same line item or items as other current employee compensation costs, and present the remaining components of net benefit cost in one or more separate line items outside of income from operations, while also limiting the components of net benefit cost eligible to be capitalized to service cost. The standard will require the Company to present the non-service pension costs as a component of expense below operating income. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, "Leases". The standard's core principle is to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years, which would be the beginning of our Fiscal 2020 or February 2019. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact the adoption of ASU 2016-02 will have on its Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures and is expecting a material impact because the Company is party to a significant number of lease contracts. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)". ASU 2014-09 amends the guidance for revenue recognition to replace numerous, industry-specific requirements and merges areas under this topic with those of the International Financial Reporting Standards. The ASU implements a five-step process for customer contract revenue recognition that focuses on transfer of control, as opposed to transfer of risk and rewards. The amendment also requires enhanced disclosures regarding the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty Note 1 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, Continued of revenues and cash flows from contracts with customers. ASU 2014-09 was originally effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2016, however, in August 2015, the FASB deferred this ASU for one year, which would be the beginning of our Fiscal 2019, or February 2018. The amendment is to be applied either retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented or with the cumulative effect recognized at the date of initial adoption as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings (or other appropriate components of equity or net assets on the balance sheet). Based on an evaluation of the standard as a whole, the Company has identified timing of catalog costs and timing of gift card breakage as the areas that will most likely be affected by the new revenue recognition guidance. The Company is continuing to assess all the impacts of the new standard and the design of internal control over financial reporting; however, based upon the materiality of the transactions that are impacted by the standard, adoption is not expected to have a material impact on its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures. The Company expects to adopt this guidance in the first quarter of Fiscal 2019 using the modified retrospective approach.