Merger with BPW Acquisition Corp. and Related Transactions - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) Share data in Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended			1 Months Ended			6 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2010	Jul. 30, 2011	Jul. 31, 2010	Apr. 07, 2010 Year	Apr. 07, 2010 AEON Company Limited and AEON USA Incorporated	Apr. 07, 2010 AEON USA Incorporated	Apr. 07, 2010 BPW Acquisition Corporation Year	Jul. 30, 2011 BPW Acquisition Corporation	Apr. 07, 2010 BPW Acquisition Corporation Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock in merger							41.5
Repurchase and retire common stock held						29.9
Issuance of warrants to purchase Talbots common stock							17.2
Ownership interest acquired							100.00%
Issuance of warrants in merger						1.0	3.5
Repayment of outstanding debt at principal value plus accrued interest and other costs			$ 486,494,000		$ 488,200,000
Extinguishment of related party debt					1,700,000
Third party senior secured revolving credit facility borrowing capacity				200,000,000
Cash held in a trust account for the benefit of its shareholders to be used in connection with a business combination							350,000,000
Cash and cash equivalents							333,000,000
Goodwill or intangible assets recorded							0
Vesting period									12 months
Merger-related costs	3,050,000	885,000	26,863,000					35,000,000
Deferred financing costs				7,700,000			7,700,000
Equity issuance costs							$ 3,600,000
Deferred financing costs amortization period				3.5			3.5