Exhibit 31.2


     Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the
                           Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

I, James G. Delfs, certify that:

1.   I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Stein Mart, Inc.;

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 Stein Mart, Inc. 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  that  has materially  affected,  or is
          reasonable  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
          controls over financial reporting.

Date: April 13, 2005                       /s/ James G. Delfs
                                           -------------------------------------
                                           James G. Delfs
                                           Chief Financial Officer