YSL, three inextricably linked letters. They say that if Coco Chanel liberated women, Yves Saint Laurent empowered them. Until 29 August 2010, the Pierre Berge-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation and the Petit Palais museum present the first retrospective of Yves Saint Laurent’s work.

307 haute couture and prêt-a-porter designs are displayed, from the beginnings of the designer’s time at Dior in 1958 with the famous "Trapèze" collection, to the splendour of 2002’s evening dresses. Numerous photographs and films illustrate the historical context, the development of Yves Saint Laurent’s style and the foundations of his work.

In 40 years of design, Yves Saint Laurent revolutionised women’s wardrobes, borrowing from the masculine tailoring of the tuxedo, the trouser suit and the safari jacket, thus transferring the attributes of power from one sex to the other.

With his numerous sources of inspiration, from art (Mondrian, Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh), to the street (the shocking 1971 collection) to his imaginary travels (Russia, China, India, Spain, Japan, Africa and Morocco), Yves Saint Laurent never stopped "making fashion a celebration".

This retrospective pays homage to the immense talent of one of the greatest names in French fashion.

Brasseries, seafood, gourmet restaurants, sushi… So far we’ve recommended numerous restaurants but we haven’t yet given you any tips on where to go for a night on the tiles or a drink in the neighbourhood. So to set that straight, we have prepared the following suggestion for a typical night out. Cheers!

22:00 – You’ve left the restaurant, but you’re not quite ready for the dance floor. A brief pause is called for while you digest your dinner. As you find beer boring and drinking wine without cheese crazy, you head straight for the Pixel Bar, a cocktail bar where the barman is you! Or almost. You choose the ingredients and admire the dexterity of Michel the bartender as he mixes your cocktail, then you drink it. Nothing simpler. The cocktail is a success, so you name it after yourself! One small step towards drunkenness, one giant step towards fame…

Midnight – After inventing and drinking half a dozen cocktails, you’re in the mood for dancing. You’re so confident in your dancing skills that if Michael Jackson were still alive, you would be ready to take him on on the dancefloor!

So your next stop is Wagg (previously Whisky A Go Go), a small club offering a mix of music: from London’s Carwash on Fridays to house and revival on Saturdays. The perfect place to warm up.

2 :00 – You’re boiling hot. The Wagg is too small for your enormous talent, so you cross the Seine and decide to go to the Rex Club, where Laurent Garnier, Carl Cox and Daft Punk have gone before you… In this Parisian temple of electro music, your feet are smoking and your bank card is quickly warming up … a volcanic eruption of happiness is approaching!

5:00 – As you’re a reasonable person, you tell yourself that it’s late and a last drink isn’t really necessary. On the other hand, you wouldn’t say no to a nice meal. Dancing can certainly work up an appetite. So at a leisurely pace, you head for the Pied de Cochon to enjoy a hearty, rustic meal at any time of the day or night.

6:00 - It’s late (or early, depending on how you look at it). You’re a bit tired and you’re wise enough not to order a last coffee after your meal. You walk past the Saint Eustache church, heading for les Halles metro and hop on the metro, south-bound. A hundred metres from Saint Placide metro, a friendly smile from the night receptionist and then bed.

What more can we say… good night ?

COCKTAILS - Le Pixel Bar, 10 Rue Dauphine, 76006 Paris

CLUBS - Le Wagg, 62 rue Mazarine, 75006 Paris - Le Rex, 1 Boulevard Poissonnière 75002 Paris

RESTAURANT - Au Pied de cochon, 6 Rue Coquillière, 75001 Paris

December. It’s cold, it rains almost every day, and the sky is a mass of depressing clouds. At home we hardly dare turn on the heating for fear of going into the red! You need a lot of imagination to find a ray of sunshine amid the winter gloom. Well, either imagination or patience as luckily Christmas will soon be here to cheer us up. “So what?”, you may ask. Will the weather be nicer at Christmas? It’s unlikely. On the contrary, the biting cold will probably be even more ferocious. And, who knows, with a bit of bad luck, it will have snowed and then turned to slush, leaving the pavements a dirty mush. So why should we see Christmas as an enchanted wonderland?

For the simple reason that, as Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States used to say, « Christmas is not a day or a season but a state of mind ». The sky might be grey and miserable, the weather might be merciless, yet the Christmas star still shines brightly in the middle of the gloom, warming our hearts and raising our spirits. Outside it’s cold, yet we are warm and cosy. The battle against the winter won, we can reward ourselves with gifts and decorations. With this in mind, the Hotel Aviatic is also getting into the festive spirit. Take heart! Enjoy the colours of Christmas! Red for passion, silver for plenty and a good dose of imagination to finish.

And as well as being a feast for the eyes, Christmas at the Hotel Aviatic is also a feast for the palate. At the Christmas breakfast an array of macaroons, petits fours and other treats will complete the traditional buffet. And because Christmas without presents is like a tree without tinsel, clients will receive an assortment of chocolates from master chocolatier Philippe Pascoet, one of the hotel’s neighbours.

'' Wishing you all a very merry Christmas from everyone at the Hotel Aviatic.''

Décembre. Il fait froid, il pleut presque tous les jours, le ciel est un amas de nuages dépressifs. Chez soi on n'ose à peine allumer le chauffage de peur de se ruiner. Bref, dans ce contexte morose il faut beaucoup d'imagination pour trouver un peu de soleil. De l'imagination ou de la patience car tel Zorro venu nous sauver, Noël, dieu merci, va bientôt arriver. Et alors ? Fera-t-il pour autant plus beau à Noël ? C'est peu probable. Au contraire , la morsure du froid sera certainement encore plus féroce. Qui sait ? Avec un peu de malchance il aura même neigé, et les flocons à la poussière mélangés viendront souiller nos trottoirs d'une mélasse noirâtre et baveuse. Pourquoi alors voir en Noël une parenthèse enchantée ?

Pour la simple et bonne raison que, comme aimait à l'affirmer Calvin Coolidge, le 30ème président des Etats-Unis, "Noël n'est pas un jour ni une saison mais un état d'esprit". Le temps a beau être gris, le climat a beau être impitoyable, l'étoile de Noël scintille au milieu d'un ciel opaque. Sa lueur nous illumine au plus profond de nos cœurs. Dehors il fait froid et pourtant nous avons chaud. La grisaille désormais vaincue, on se pare de guirlandes et on se couvre de cadeaux tels des soldats que l'on récompense à coup de médailles et de permissions. Dans cet esprit, l'Hôtel Aviatic aussi se met au diapason. Hauts les cœurs ! En fête les couleurs ! Du rouge pour la passion, de l'argent pour l'abondance et une bonne dose d'imagination pour harmoniser le tout.

Au plaisir des yeux s'ajoute celui du palet. Lors du petit déjeuner de Noël toute une gamme de macarons, petits fours et autres gourmandises viendra compléter le traditionnel buffet. Enfin parce qu'un Noël sans cadeaux c'est comme un sapin sans guirlandes, les clients se verront offrir comme cadeau de fin d'année un assortiment de chocolats de la boutique voisine du maître chocolatier Philippe Pascoet.

Toute l'équipe de l'hôtel Aviatic vous souhaite un joyeux Noël.