Brown Shoe Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, May 25, 2006 -- The Board of Directors of Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE: BWS) today declared a quarterly dividend of 8 cents per share, payable July 3, 2006 to shareholders of record on June 16, 2006.
This dividend will be the 334th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by the company.
Note: On April 3, 2006 Brown Shoe Common Stock split 3-for-2, with shareholders receiving a stock dividend of one share of the Company's Common Stock for every two shares outstanding. Simultaneously, the Board approved a 20% increase in its quarterly cash dividend, raising the post-split cash dividend from $0.067 per share to $0.08 per share.

Brown Shoe is a $2.3 billion footwear company with global operations. The Company operates the 950+ store Famous Footwear chain, which sells brand name shoes for the family. It also operates 300+ specialty retail stores in the U.S. and Canada under the Naturalizer, FX LaSalle and Via Spiga names, and Shoes.com, the Company’s e-commerce subsidiary. Brown Shoe, through its Wholesale divisions, owns and markets leading footwear brands including Naturalizer, LifeStride, Via Spiga, Nickels Soft, Connie and Buster Brown; it also markets licensed brands including Franco Sarto, Dr. Scholl's, Etienne Aigner, Bass and Carlos by Carlos Santana for adults, and Barbie, Disney and Nickelodeon character footwear for children. Brown Shoe press releases are available on the Company's web site at www.brownshoe.com.