Exhibit 31.1


I, David M. Chamberlain, certify that:

1.     I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period
       ending June 1, 2007 of The Stride Rite Corporation;

2.     Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
       statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
       necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
       under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect
       to the period covered by this report;

3.     Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
       information included in this report, fairly present in all material
       respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
       flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in
       this report;

4.     The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
       establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
       defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal
       control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
       13a-15(f) and 15d - 15(f)) for the registrant and have:

       (a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
           disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
           supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
           registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known
           to us by others within those entities, particularly during the
           period in which this report is being prepared;
       (b) designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused
           such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under
           our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
           reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial
           statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
           accepted accounting principles;
       (c) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
           and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about
           the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of
           the end of the period covered by this report based on such
           evaluation; and
       (d) disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
           control over financial reporting that occurred during the
           registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth
           fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially
           affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
           registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.     The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed,
       based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over
       financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
       committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing
       the equivalent functions):

       (a) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
           or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which are
           reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
           record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
       (b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
           other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
           internal control over financial reporting.

Date:  July 11, 2007              /s/ David M. Chamberlain
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                                      David M. Chamberlain,
                                      Chairman and CEO