EXCLUSIVE: Maybe she should be brunette all the time! January Jones sports a slick dark crop in sultry new shoot for Vs. Magazine

PUBLISHED: 13:07, 30 January 2013 | UPDATED: 18:36, 30 January 2013

Complete with a slick brunette crop and vampish make-up January Jones is barely recognizable as she strikes a sultry pose for the new issue of Vs. Magazine.

The Mad Men star, 35, who usually sports uptight outfits on the hit Sixties-era series, showed off her sexy side for the glossy's spring/summer edition which runs with the theme 'Passionate'.

In one shot she is seen blowing a puff of cigarette smoke towards the camera while another frame shows her reclining on a sofa with a peep of cleavage on display.

Transformation: Mad Men star January Jones is barely recognizable in a new shoot for Vs. Magazine, as she sports a slick brunette crop while posing in a selection of sexy outfits

Sultry look: Ms Jones blows a puff of cigarette smoke towards photographer Mark Abrahams

The moody black and white images were captured by top fashion photographer Mark Abrahams.

Classic designs from fashion labels including Bottega Veneta, Tom Ford, John Galliano, Burberry Prorsum and Jimmy Choo were used for the shoot.

Miss Jones, who has now returned to a platinum blonde, recently admitted that constantly dying her hair has caused bald patches to appear.

'My hair is falling out in clumps,' she told Grazia magazine.

Suffering for her art: Miss Jones, who has now returned to a platinum blonde, recently admitted that constantly dying her hair has caused bald patches to appear and her 'hair is falling out in clumps''

Career choices: Miss Jones said she would never appear in liquor, tobacco or fried chicken adverts, because as a mother she's conscious of being a different kind of role model

Testing: In the Western Sweetwater, which will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Miss Jones plays a red-haired former prostitute seeking revenge on the rancher who killed her husband

Touching on the subject in the Vs. Magazine interview conducted by shoe designer Brian Atwood, the single mother-of-one said: 'For the most part I’ve always been a blonde.

'But in the last four or five months, my hair has been every shade of the rainbow.'

'There's a high maintenance to my having dark hair, when the blonde roots start coming in it looks like I'm balding'

Changing her hairstyle has a useful purpose though, as it can help her to get into character - 'you look like what you imagine in your head,' she explained.

In the Western Sweetwater, which will premiere on Thursday night at the Sundance Film Festival, Miss Jones plays a red-haired former prostitute seeking revenge on the rancher who killed her husband.

Describing how she prepared for the role she joked: 'I went back to my days of… I had to dig deep into my past.

Moody: Miss Jones strikes a pose wearing an open back gown by Bottega Veneta

Getting into character: Miss Jones said changing her hair colour helps prepare her for different acting roles

'It was a really cool role, like being a female Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider.'

The Los Angeles-based actress, who was pictured for the first time as a brunette last November, revealed that the colour change was for a project but teased: 'I can’t tell you which, yet.’

Talking about the chestnut hue, the natural blonde, added: 'There’s a high maintenance to my having dark hair: when the blonde roots start coming in it looks like I’m balding or graying or something - not cute!'

She told ABC News that her one-year-old son Xander also prefers her as a blonde and when he looks at photographs of her with light tresses he says, 'Mama'.

Ms Jones will hit the small screen as Betty Draper again on April 7 as AMC airs the sixth season of Mad Men in the U.S.

Racy lady: The spring/summer edition of Vs. Magazine runs with the theme 'Passionate'

Discussing her character's evolution over the years she said: 'The most interesting thing to me is the fans’ reaction to her evolution because I remember being on the streets of New York in the first season or two and people would come up to me and be like, ''Oh my god, it’s you! Oh my god, poor Betty.''

'People wanted to hug me, they felt so bad for her. A couple of weeks ago, I was waiting at a jewelry store to get a clasp fixed and this other customer was glaring at me. Finally I was like, ''Yes?'' and she goes, ''I just want you to know, I hate your character.''

Asked if there was anything she wouldn't do in her career Miss Jones told Mr Atwood that she would never appear in liquor, tobacco or fried chicken adverts.

'I’m a mom now... so I’m conscious of being a different kind of role model,' she said.

Kate Boswoth, Eva Herzigova and Irina Shayk also feature in the upcoming issue of Vs. Magazine.

The full interview with January Jones appears in the spring/summer issue of Vs. Magazine. A video from the shoot will appear soon on fashiontube.com.

HOOKED ON HAIR DYE: A HISTORY OF JANUARY JONES' COLORFUL LOCKS

January Jones can't seem to keep away from the hair dye - and every role seems to require a different color. Here, we take a look at her most recent hues...

Hair crisis: January Jones brunette in November (left) and at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday - the newly blonde star revealed her hair is falling out because she constantly dyes it