Switzerland’s Surprising Watch Woes, a Big Moment for Marfa, and Michelle Obama’s Viral Dress: What We’re Reading

Our editors are a diverse lot, and are constantly perusing a long and broad list of publications. Fashion? Art? Architecture? Culinary studies? Semantics? It’s all here. In What We’re Reading, PaperCity shares the wealth.

We love watches. They help us keep on time for appointments, they are full of history and lore, and they can be stunningly beautiful. But something is amiss in Switzerland, writes Leonid Bershidsky:

In January through June, the exports of Swiss watches dropped 11.9 percent in unit terms and 10.7 percent in value terms compared to the same period last year.

Read more of his analysis here.

Henry Louis Mencken is as relevant today as he was when at the peak of his writing career, eviscerating everyone and everything and calling out the fools and hypocrites he saw everywhere. He was an astute critic and wrote with grace and intelligence on everything from food to politics. Paula Marantz Cohen wants you to read him today.

Fashion had a role on the opening day of the Democratic National Convention, most notably in the dress worn by Michelle Obama. It was designed by Christian Siriano, and knowing a bit  — read here — about his background is illuminating (and says something about the First Lady’s selection): He is a former reality TV star, and his creations are inclusive, a quality political parties (most of them, at least) strive to embody.

Finally, Robert Irwin has created a great work of art in Marfa, and it made its premiere earlier this month. Here is the artist’s take on “untitled, (dawn to dusk)”.