Stock-based Compensation Plans (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended																																			12 Months Ended
	Jan. 28, 2012 Y	Jan. 29, 2011	Jan. 30, 2010	Jan. 28, 2012 Outstanding at beginning of period [Member]	Jan. 30, 2010 Outstanding at beginning of period [Member]	Jan. 31, 2009 Outstanding at beginning of period [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Granted - exercise price equal to market price [Member]	Jan. 29, 2011 Granted - exercise price equal to market price [Member]	Jan. 30, 2010 Granted - exercise price equal to market price [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Canceled/forfeited [Member]	Jan. 29, 2011 Canceled/forfeited [Member]	Jan. 30, 2010 Canceled/forfeited [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Exercised [Member]	Jan. 29, 2011 Exercised [Member]	Jan. 30, 2010 Exercised [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Outstanding at end of period [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Exercisable at end of period [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights [Member] Y	Jan. 28, 2012 Stock Award and Incentive 2010 Plan [Member]	Jan. 29, 2011 Stock Award and Incentive 2010 Plan [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Stock Award and Incentive 2004 Plan [Member]	Jan. 29, 2011 Stock Award and Incentive 2004 Plan [Member]	Jan. 30, 2010 Stock Award and Incentive 2004 Plan [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Non-Employee Directors Compensation 2003 Plan [Member] Y	Jan. 29, 2011 Non-Employee Directors Compensation 2003 Plan [Member]	Jan. 30, 2010 Non-Employee Directors Compensation 2003 Plan [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Associates Stock Incentive 2000 Plan [Member]	Jan. 29, 2011 Associates Stock Incentive 2000 Plan [Member]	Jan. 30, 2010 Associates Stock Incentive 2000 Plan [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Employees Stock Incentive 1993 Plan [Member] Y	Jan. 29, 2011 Employees Stock Incentive 1993 Plan [Member]	Jan. 30, 2010 Employees Stock Incentive 1993 Plan [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Key Employees Stock Option 1988 Plan [Member]	Jan. 29, 2011 Key Employees Stock Option 1988 Plan [Member]	Jan. 30, 2010 Key Employees Stock Option 1988 Plan [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Employee Stock Purchase 1994 Plan [Member] M	Jan. 29, 2011 Employee Stock Purchase 1994 Plan [Member]	Jan. 30, 2010 Employee Stock Purchase 1994 Plan [Member]	Jan. 28, 2012 Stock Award and Incentive 2010 and 2004 Plans [Member]
Additional Plan Information [Abstract]
RSUs granted (shares)																			657,691	324,206	0	300,417	0
Weighted Average Market Price at Grant Date																			$ 3.89	$ 4.76	$ 0.00	$ 5.15	$ 0.00													$ 3.57	$ 4.49	$ 2.57
Shares issued under RSAs/RSUs																			304,926	0	281,282	256,485	253,671	0	0	15,334	0	0	58,560	0	0	73,440
Cancellation of RSAs/RSUs (shares)																			34,250	0	56,656	63,396	258,761
RSAs/RSUs outstanding at year end (shares)																			642,721	324,206	354,863	692,801	712,265
Number of Shares Authorized																			4,000,000		6,500,000			600,000			5,000,000			10,898,726			3,000,000			2,000,000
Number Of Shares Carried Over From Previously Authorized Plan																			2,414,004											1,843,258
Number Of Full Value Awards																					2,000,000
Award Annual Grant Percentage Limit																					2.00%
Limit of reserved shares that could be issued as RSAs/RSUs																								50.00%
Aggregate Value At Grant Date																								$ 135,000
Maximum Contractual Term (years)																								10						10
Exercise Price Grants Less Than Market Price																																	$ 1.00
Award Vesting Period, Minimum (years)																																							4
Award Vesting Period, Maximum (years)																																	5						5
Options/SARs shares [Roll Forward]
Outstanding at beginning of period	6,098,153	7,076,953	3,292,385
Granted - exercise price equal to market price	2,569,450	1,032,607	4,775,360
Canceled/forfeited	(935,967)	(1,978,215)	(970,310)
Exercised	(1,640,322)	(33,192)	(20,482)
Outstanding at end of period	6,091,314	6,098,153	7,076,953
SARs/Options exercisable at year end (shares)	1,475,746																		39,159	0	1,160,423	911,660	314,919	69,000	120,658	263,158	0	214,300	439,060	0	149,640	280,640	0	5,884	8,504
Weighted average exercise price [Abstract]
Outstanding at beginning of period (in dollars per share)	$ 3.10	$ 2.92	$ 5.09
Granted - exercise price equal to market price (in dollars per share)	$ 3.98	$ 5.05	$ 1.74
Canceled/forfeited (in dollars per share)	$ 4.86	$ 3.52	$ 4.48
Exercised (in dollars per share)	$ 1.80	$ 1.45	$ 2.20
Outstanding at end of period (in dollars per share)	$ 3.55	$ 3.10	$ 2.92
Exercisable at end of period (in dollars per share)	$ 3.23
Range of exercise prices per share [Abstract]
Exercise Price Range, Lower Range Limit				$ 1.00	$ 0.99	$ 1.00	$ 2.71	$ 3.54	$ 0.99	$ 1.00	$ 0.99	$ 1.00	$ 1.00	$ 1.00	$ 1.00	$ 1.00	$ 1.03
Exercise Price Range, Upper Range Limit				$ 13.84	$ 13.84	$ 13.84	$ 4.95	$ 6.62	$ 5.72	$ 13.84	$ 11.28	$ 11.28	$ 4.00	$ 2.93	$ 4.78	$ 11.28	$ 11.28
Inducement Grants [Roll Forward]
Inducement Shares Outstanding at beginning of period (shares)	1,416,496	1,959,646	709,646
Inducement Shares Granted (shares)			1,250,000
Inducement Shares Cancelled (shares)		(543,150)
Inducement Shares Exercised (shares)	(825,000)
Inducement Shares Outstanding at end of period (shares)	591,496	1,416,496	1,959,646
Inducement Shares Exercisable at end of period (shares)	207,164	427,848	177,222
Aggregate intrinsic value [Abstract]
Aggregate Intrinsic Value SARS/Options, Outstanding at Year End	8,531,000	0	20,610,000
Aggregate Intrinsic Value SARS/Options, Exercisable at Year End	2,545,000	0	0
Aggregate market value of unvested stock awards at year end	4,938,000	3,112,000	4,157,000
Aggregate Intrinsic Value SARS/Options, Exercises in Period	2,232,000	78,000	65,000
Aggregate market value of stock awards vested during the year	2,290,000	1,538,000	875,000
Shares available for future grants [Abstract]
Shares available for future grants (shares)																			5,106,330																	252,394
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Fair Value Assumptions and Methodology [Abstract]
Historically estimated stock price volatility, minimum																		81.30%																		54.20%
Historically estimated stock price volatility, maximum																		94.20%																		190.20%
Dividend yield																		0.00%																		0.00%
Expected Term																		7																		3
Risk Free Interest Rate, Minimum																		1.38%																		0.00%
Risk Free Interest Rate, Maximum																		3.60%																		0.19%
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value [Abstract]
Exercise Price Equal To Market Value	$ 3.19	$ 4.06	$ 1.35
Employee Stock Purchase Plan Additional Disclosures Abstract [Abstract]
Discounted Common Stock Purchase Price																																				85.00%
Maximum Employee Subscription Rate																																				10.00%
Shares purchased																																				156,281	138,415	257,238
Stock-based compensation expense [Abstract]
Stock-based compensation expense, excluding cash-settled RSUs	5,155,000	4,698,000	6,844,000
Stock-based compensation expense, cash-settled RSUs	0	4,000	819,000
Total stock-based compensation expense	5,155,000	4,702,000	7,663,000
Compensation expense not yet recognized [Abstract]
Stock-based compensation expense not yet recognized	$ 10,701,000
Weighted-average period over which expense is expected to be recognized (in years)	3