Supplemental Guarantor Financial Information (Condensed Consolidating Statements of Income) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended															12 Months Ended
	Feb. 02, 2013		Oct. 27, 2012		Jul. 28, 2012		Apr. 28, 2012		Jan. 28, 2012		Oct. 29, 2011	Jul. 30, 2011		Apr. 30, 2011		Feb. 02, 2013		Jan. 28, 2012	Jan. 29, 2011
Net Sales	$ 3,856	[1]	$ 2,050	[2]	$ 2,399	[3]	$ 2,154	[4]	$ 3,515	[5]	$ 2,174	$ 2,458	[6]	$ 2,217	[7]	$ 10,459		$ 10,364	$ 9,613
Costs of Goods Sold, Buying and Occupancy																(6,073)		(6,307)	(5,982)
Gross Profit	1,717	[1]	825	[2]	942	[3]	902	[4]	1,528	[5]	785	902	[6]	842	[7]	4,386		4,057	3,631
General, Administrative and Store Operating Expenses																(2,720)		(2,698)	(2,341)
Impairment of Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets	(93)								(232)							(93)		(232)	(6)
Gain on Divestiture of Third-Party Apparel Sourcing Business																		111
Operating Income (Loss)	788	[1]	187	[2]	305	[3]	293	[4]	641	[5]	186	194	[6]	217	[7]	1,573	[8]	1,238	1,284	[8]
Interest Expense																(316)		(246)	(208)
Other Income (Loss)																24		235	175
Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes																1,281		1,227	1,251
Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes																528		377	446
Equity in Earnings, Net of Tax																0		0	0
Net Income (Loss)																753		850	805
Reclassification of Cash Flow Hedges to Earnings																5		3	41
Foreign Currency Translation																(2)		(1)	(1)
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Cash Flow Hedges																1		(3)	(24)
Total Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax																4		(1)	16
Total Comprehensive Income																757		849	821
Limited Brands, Inc. [Member]
Net Sales																0		0	0
Costs of Goods Sold, Buying and Occupancy																0		0	0
Gross Profit																0		0	0
General, Administrative and Store Operating Expenses																(5)		(5)	(4)
Impairment of Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets																0		0	0
Gain on Divestiture of Third-Party Apparel Sourcing Business																		0
Operating Income (Loss)																(5)		(5)	(4)
Interest Expense																(316)		(245)	(207)
Other Income (Loss)																262		251	(26)
Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes																(59)		1	(237)
Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes																0		2	1
Equity in Earnings, Net of Tax																812		851	1,043
Net Income (Loss)																753		850	805
Reclassification of Cash Flow Hedges to Earnings																2		3	10
Foreign Currency Translation																0		0	0
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Cash Flow Hedges																0		0	(1)
Total Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax																2		3	9
Total Comprehensive Income																755		853	814
Guarantor Subsidiaries
Net Sales																9,570		9,570	9,005
Costs of Goods Sold, Buying and Occupancy																(5,578)		(5,943)	(5,655)
Gross Profit																3,992		3,627	3,350
General, Administrative and Store Operating Expenses																(2,405)		(2,297)	(2,212)
Impairment of Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets																0		0	(6)
Gain on Divestiture of Third-Party Apparel Sourcing Business																		6
Operating Income (Loss)																1,587		1,336	1,132
Interest Expense																(22)		(25)	0
Other Income (Loss)																(355)		(247)	15
Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes																1,210		1,064	1,147
Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes																359		324	338
Equity in Earnings, Net of Tax																231		356	862
Net Income (Loss)																1,082		1,096	1,671
Reclassification of Cash Flow Hedges to Earnings																0		0	0
Foreign Currency Translation																0		0	0
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Cash Flow Hedges																0		0	0
Total Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax																0		0	0
Total Comprehensive Income																1,082		1,096	1,671
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries
Net Sales																2,954		3,334	2,587
Costs of Goods Sold, Buying and Occupancy																(2,464)		(2,782)	(2,161)
Gross Profit																490		552	426
General, Administrative and Store Operating Expenses																(403)		(517)	(286)
Impairment of Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets																(93)		(232)	0
Gain on Divestiture of Third-Party Apparel Sourcing Business																		105
Operating Income (Loss)																(6)		(92)	140
Interest Expense																(10)		(12)	(13)
Other Income (Loss)																128		244	196
Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes																112		140	323
Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes																169		51	107
Equity in Earnings, Net of Tax																327		207	313
Net Income (Loss)																270		296	529
Reclassification of Cash Flow Hedges to Earnings																3		0	31
Foreign Currency Translation																(2)		(1)	(1)
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Cash Flow Hedges																1		(3)	(23)
Total Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax																2		(4)	7
Total Comprehensive Income																272		292	536
Eliminations
Net Sales																(2,065)		(2,540)	(1,979)
Costs of Goods Sold, Buying and Occupancy																1,969		2,418	1,834
Gross Profit																(96)		(122)	(145)
General, Administrative and Store Operating Expenses																93		121	161
Impairment of Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets																0		0	0
Gain on Divestiture of Third-Party Apparel Sourcing Business																		0
Operating Income (Loss)																(3)		(1)	16
Interest Expense																32		36	12
Other Income (Loss)																(11)		(13)	(10)
Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes																18		22	18
Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes																0		0	0
Equity in Earnings, Net of Tax																(1,370)		(1,414)	(2,218)
Net Income (Loss)																(1,352)		(1,392)	(2,200)
Reclassification of Cash Flow Hedges to Earnings																0		0	0
Foreign Currency Translation																0		0	0
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Cash Flow Hedges																0		0	0
Total Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax																0		0	0
Total Comprehensive Income																$ (1,352)		$ (1,392)	$ (2,200)

[1] The Company utilizes the retail calendar for reporting. As such, the results for fiscal years 2012 and 2011 represent the 53-week period ended February 2, 2013 and the 52-week period ended January 28, 2012, respectively. The 2012 fourth quarter consists of a fourteen week period versus a thirteen week period in 2011.

[2] Includes the effect of the following items:(i)A pre-tax charge of $93 million related to the impairment of La Senza goodwill and other intangible assets; and(ii)A pre-tax charge of $27 million related to the impairment of Henri Bendel long-lived store assets.

[3] Includes the effect of the following items:i.A pre-tax gain of $13 million related to $13 million in cash distributions from certain of our investments in Easton; andii.A pre-tax expense of $10 million associated with the store closure initiative at La Senza.

[4] Includes $4 million of expense associated with the store closure initiative at La Senza.

[5] Includes the effect of a tax benefit of $17 million related to the favorable resolution of certain discrete income tax matters.

[6] Includes the effect of a non-taxable gain of $147 million and pre-tax expense of $113 million associated with the charitable contribution of Express, Inc. common stock to The Limited Brands Foundation.

[7] Includes the effect of the following items:(i)A pre-tax gain of $86 million related to the sale of shares of Express, Inc. common stock;(ii)A pre-tax expense of $50 million related to a pledge to The Limited Brands Foundation; and(iii)A tax benefit of $11 million related to the favorable resolution of certain discrete income tax matters.

[8] Operating Loss for the Other segment includes the effect of the following items:(i)In 2012, a $93 million impairment charge related to goodwill and other intangible assets for our La Senza business; a $27 million impairment charge related to long-lived store assets for our Henri Bendel business; and $14 million of expense associated with the store closure initiative at La Senza.(ii)In 2011, a $232 million impairment charge related to goodwill and other intangible assets for our La Senza business; a $111 million gain related to the divestiture of 51% of our third-party apparel sourcing business; $163 million of expense related to the charitable contribution of our remaining shares of Express, Inc. to The Limited Brands Foundation; and $24 million of restructuring expenses at La Senza. In the fourth quarter of 2011, we divested 51% of our third-party apparel sourcing business, which was included in Other in the table above. For additional information, see Note 9, "Equity Investments and Other."