Merger with BPW Acquisition Corp. and Related Transactions - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) Share data in Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	Oct. 30, 2010	Oct. 29, 2011	Oct. 30, 2010	Apr. 07, 2010 Year	Apr. 07, 2010 BPW Acquisition Corporation Year	Oct. 29, 2011 BPW Acquisition Corporation	Apr. 07, 2010 BPW Acquisition Corporation Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)	Apr. 07, 2010 AEON Company Limited and AEON USA Incorporated	Apr. 07, 2010 AEON USA Incorporated
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					3.5				1.0
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	787,000	885,000	27,650,000			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