Brown Shoe Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, May 27, 2004 -- The Board of Directors of Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE: BWS) today declared a quarterly dividend of 10 cents per share, payable July 1, 2004, to shareholders of record on June 11, 2004.

This dividend will be the 326th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by the company.

Brown Shoe is a $1.8 billion footwear company with worldwide operations. The Company operates the 900-store Famous Footwear chain, which sells brand name shoes for the family. It also operates 400 Naturalizer stores in the U.S. and Canada that sell the Naturalizer brand of shoes and accessories. Brown Shoe, through its Wholesale divisions, owns and markets leading footwear brands including Naturalizer, LifeStride, Connie and Buster Brown; it also markets licensed brands including Dr. Scholl's, Bass and Carlos by Carlos Santana for adults, and Barbie, Superman, Supergirl, Looney Tunes and AstroBoy character footwear for children. Brown Shoe press releases are available on the Company's web site at www.brownshoe.com.