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Life & Arts

Trendy partygoers head to Belvedere

Bottoms Up

Sarah Tressler

If you acquired a summer job that has left you flush with cash for the moment, you may want to flaunt the fruits of your labor at a hoity-toity club where you can be seen. For people-watching and fashion flaunting at its finest, we must turn our attention to one of Houston's more upscale clubs: Belvedere.

Owned by the same folks who made The Social a premier spot for partygoers, Belvedere, 1131 Uptown Park Blvd. exudes luxury, class and -- unfortunately -- presumption with a capital P. If you've got issues with your image, proceed no farther; the expensively-laden socialites may make you feel bitter.

The dress code is strictly enforced, as it should be in club of this caliber, so don't show up in your boyfriend's football jersey and denim cutoffs -- unless they're True Religion. Even then, I would proceed with couture caution. When in doubt, consult with the latest issue of Vogue or GQ.

Clingy cocktail dresses and dinner jackets are the norm for the early evening crowd, which consists mostly of people on the verge of their mid-life crises. This may also explain the fleet of shiny new Porsches parked in the valet spots. 

The music doesn't get turned up past conversational level until the place starts getting hard to walk through, which will be about the time you'll notice the trendiest model-types start to arrive. Oh, and off-duty strippers. You mix a posh nightclub with young, wealthy men and you couldn't keep the peelers away if you tried.

The interior is contemporary and adorned with white marble, colorful lighting and oversized armchairs and sofas. Cameras around the club feed onto the big plasma screens behind the bar and little monitors in the bathroom stalls, so don't start hitting on that rail-thin blonde in a miniskirt while your girlfriend goes to powder her nose -- she might be watching you.

The patio is furnished with sofas, tables, chairs and heaters. It will give you a break from the throbbing disco and house beats, but the high walls that enclose the area make it too humid this time of year, so you might want to stay inside. Besides, the last thing you want to do in an Armani suit is sweat.

Belvedere

1131 Uptown Park Blvd.

Verdict: Upscale, swanky, loud, crowded. Wear your Gucci and your Prada (assuming you have anything like that).
 

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