Aria   

246 Tremont St
Boston, MA 02116
617-338-7080
www.ariaboston.com

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Just like the horn-helmeted divas its name calls to mind, Aria is all about self-dramatization. And, in keeping with this stagy ambience, the club attracts its fair share of poseurs -- many of whom make the scene in costumes worthy of a Milan catwalk. One look at the line stretching toward the velvet rope and you'll sense you're not in Boston anymore, but rather in a Boston-based Bizarro World where Dockers are taboo and Prada is the norm. Cell phone-clutching Europeans abound, as do models, hairstylists, fashion victims and other aficionados of designer exhibitionism.The space itself resembles a collision between the Cirque du Soleil and the Playboy Mansion, its candy-striped banquettes and vermilion walls anchored by a central couch that doubles as a giant phallic symbol. Chandeliers, animal-print ottomans and a pillow-strewn four-poster bed complete the picture of upscale decadence the club aims to project, with dancers voguing on pedestals for the benefit of cocktail-quaffing regulars. If its entertainment you're after, Aria presents a weekly schedule of DJ nights (hip-hop and R&B on Tuesdays and Fridays, classic hits on Saturdays) as well as a "alternative evening" (for gays and lesbians) on Wednesdays and a Thursday night cabal for the fashion industry (Fashion House Thursdays, featuring live fashion shows, industry parties and a DJ spinning "high energy Euro and hip-hop"). -- Julia Clinger