Blacktop Betty: Smitten Kitten

Websters says: Smitten: verb ( past smote |smōt|; past part. smitten |ˈsmitn|) [ trans. ] poetic/literary strike with a firm blow : he smites the water with his sword.

• archaic defeat or conquer (a people or land) : he may smite our enemies.
• (usu. be smitten) figurative (esp. of disease) attack or affect severely : various people had been smitten with untimely summer flu.
• ( be smitten) be strongly attracted to someone or something : she was so smitten with the boy.

The Mercifuls were at the Bob’s Big Boy Broiler in Downey for their second anniversary show. The Pin-up magazine was there with a pinup contest and we were “attached and affected severely” by one of the contestants. In-fact, some were “strongly attracted” by the one and only Smitten Kitten. She sure was named correctly.

New to the pinup scene, Smitten stole the show and some hearts with her statuesque pose, and great smile. After the contest she agreed to pose with some of the Merciful’s vehicles. De’s Thunderbird, Jack’s Pontiac and T-Bone’s Road King all got the Smitten Kitten treatment.

Smitten Kitten enjoys attending classic car and bike shows in the winter you can find her sliding down the hills on her snowboard, and while at home she enjoys baking. She enjoys all kinds of music from reggae to punk and likes going to concerts. This past summer it was a Social Distortion concert that was a favorite saying: “Mike Ness puts on one hell of a show”. Her favorite restaurant is Dale’s Diner in Long Beach, she digs the 50’s inspired car seat booths and table top juke boxes. She says you will find her there after a late night out with the girls. Her favorite movie is “Christine”. She loves the sinister personality Steven King gave to the ’58 Plymouth Fury. And, her favorite car is a 1957 Chevrolet Hearse. “I absolutely melt when I see one.”

I asked about her modeling… Smitten has found herself identifying with the vintage pinup look. It’s her daily style of hair and clothing. She enjoys the self-confidence she finds in front of a camera. Her ideal shoot would be a zombie theme in a graveyard with a ’57 hearse.

By day she is a hairstylist, and she is inspired by pinups from the past such as Bettie Page.

Keep an eye out for our latest Blacktop Betty, we are sure, you too will be Smitten with this Kitten. In the meantime you can be a fan of her Facebook page.