Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jul. 28, 2012	Aug. 20, 2012 Common Stock Class A	Aug. 20, 2012 Common Stock Class B
Entity Registrant Name	WET SEAL INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000863456
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jul. 28, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--02-02
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		89,584,244	0