Nature of Business	3 Months Ended
Apr. 28, 2012
Nature of Business/Basis of Presentation [Abstract]
NATURE OF BUSINESS	1. NATURE OF BUSINESS Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. (together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, the “Company” or “PacSun”) is a leading specialty retailer rooted in the action sports, fashion and music influences of the California lifestyle. The Company sells a combination of branded and proprietary casual apparel, accessories and footwear designed to appeal to teens and young adults. It operates a nationwide, primarily mall-based chain of retail stores under the names “Pacific Sunwear” and “PacSun.” In addition, the Company operates an e-commerce website at www.pacsun.com which sells PacSun merchandise online, provides content and community for its target customers and provides information about the Company. The Company, a California corporation, was incorporated in August 1982. As of April 28, 2012, the Company leased and operated 729 stores in each of the 50 states and Puerto Rico.

The entire disclosure for the nature of an entity's business, the major products or services it sells or provides and its principal markets, including the locations of those markets. If the entity operates in more than one business, the disclosure also indicates the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination (for example, assets, revenues, or earnings).

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Name Statement of Position (SOP)

-Publisher AICPA

-Number 94-6

-Paragraph 10

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 275

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6927468&loc=d3e6003-108592

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