It’s the week after Christmas and I’ve got the typical post-holiday blahs.

The deep freeze has hit Toronto, and I’m feeling lonely after a short visit back home.

I do what any shop-happy gal searching for spiritual salvation would do: I hit the mall.

The Parkway Mall at Victoria Park Avenue and Ellesmere Road isn’t the hippest of shopping centres. Flanked by a Metro and a Tim Hortons, it doesn’t have the allure of the nearby Fairview Mall with all it’s mega brand-name stores.

And with the recent firing of a Santa who gave out candy canes and allegedly was belligerent to mall management, the place may not be scoring big in peoples’ popularity ranks at the moment.

But it’s one of the few malls around — much like Centrepoint Mall in North York and Gerrard Square in the east end  — that hasn’t pushed out the independently owned shops in favour of the typical retail giants. I dig that.

I begin at BFL, short for Brands For Less. It’s a new biz, and the gent running it says they’re scouting out a better location in the mall.

You can get brand name ladieswear for $5-20. There’s a lot of Cabi Clothing, a line you can find at Bloomingdales. Summer-weight blazers by that label are $15.

The real find: Parasuco jeans for $20. There’s a hoard of teeny sizes in truly odd numbers — who’s ever heard of a size 23 waist?

We find a size that fits me well, but I’m slightly distrustful of the faux rhinestones on the pocket and the trendy detailing.

I leave with a hoodie with ruching under the bodice and a zipper pull in a shape of a kitty for $10 — the label has been cut off but I don’t care.

416-446-7790, www.brands4less.ca

There are a bunch of other fashion shops, many of which carry flashy ladies’ garb and accessories. In Rodeo, trendy inexpensive shoes are just under $11. I try on a pair of fitted pants like the riding pants I recently tried at an equestrian shop — and I can’t take them off. They fit amazingly well and feel wonderful and they don’t make my butt look the size of a horse.

I discover later that they’re uber warm, and best part is they’re made in Canada — Toronto in fact.

For $39.99 I wear them out of the store.

416-443-2092

I learn quickly that in a mall like this, it pays to do your comparison shopping as many of the fashion and accessories stores carry the same items.

Example: next door in Yalena’s Clothing, I find the exact same riding pants for $29.99. There are also flared versions available.

To take the sting out, I buy some blue fitted ones and have a nice time chatting with owner Yalena and her hubby Bob.

If you can get in fast there still may be some sequined bras left for $29.99 each. Think diamond bra by Victoria Secret sans the rocks — and the multi-million dollar price tag.

416-441-0674

Speaking of glimmer the gilt lettering outside a shop, which spells The Shoe Palace, has a comforting retro vibe to it. Inside I meet the owner, who’s been in the mall for 30 years.

The shop carries styles similar to the inexpensive shoe shops in the mall, but there are also higher-end brands here like Timberlake and La Canadienne.

The Matt and Nat vegan handbags are on mega sale, marked down and then an additional 40 percent off.

416-444-4113

A Toronto Public Library branch and a bowling alley I can’t seem to find, round out the list of eclectic finds here. The European Deli Shop