Imitates life in short dresses and gin cocktails (8)
I believe the answer is:
martinis
'cocktails' is the definition.
(martini is a kind of cocktail)
'imitates life in short dresses and gin' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'in' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for martinis that I've seen before include "Cocktails made with vermouth" , "drinks, after being shaken?" , "Cocktails of gin or vodka with vermouth" , "Cocktails can be mini arts" .)