Stockholders' Equity (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Feb. 29, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 2006 Equity Incentive Plan (2006 Plan)	Sep. 30, 2012 2006 Equity Incentive Plan (2006 Plan) Nonvested stock units issued (NSUs)	Sep. 30, 2012 2006 Equity Incentive Plan (2006 Plan) Nonvested stock units issued (NSUs)	Sep. 30, 2012 2012 LTIP Awards	May 31, 2012 2012 LTIP Awards Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)	Sep. 30, 2012 2012 LTIP Awards Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)	Sep. 30, 2012 2012 LTIP Awards Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) Maximum
Stockholders' equity
Common stock reserved for issuance (in shares)									6,000,000
Maximum number of shares that may be issued through the exercise of incentive stock options									4,500,000
Maximum stock repurchase amount approved by Board of Directors	$ 200,000	$ 100,000
Remaining stock repurchase amount approved by Board of Directors						115,300
Number of shares repurchased					1,749,000	1,833,000
Repurchase of common stock, payments					100,000	184,695	19,918
Average stock price of shares repurchased (in dollars per share)					$ 57.19	$ 46.24
Number of shares granted										10,000	202,000				351,338
Weighted-average grant date fair value of awards (in dollars per share)										$ 51.21	$ 62.49			$ 56.12
Vesting period in years for non vested stock units								3 years			3 years
Stock compensation expenses
Unrecognized Compensation Cost														8,556
Recognized Compensation Cost reversed										656	656
Number of shares receivable as right under stock-based awards													1
Revenue targets to be met for awards to be vested, low end of range												2,200,000
Revenue targets to be met for awards to be vested, high end of range												2,900,000
Diluted earnings per share targets to be met for awards to be vested, low end of range (in dollars per share)												$ 7.00
Diluted earnings per share targets to be met for awards to be vested, high end of range (in dollars per share)												$ 10.50
Reconciliation of retained earnings
Retained earning, at the beginning of the period					692,595	692,595
Net income attributable to Deckers Outdoor Corporation			43,061	62,484		30,809	74,323
Repurchase of common stock						(184,660)
Retained earning, at the end of the period			$ 538,744			$ 538,744