Claymoor (Mișu Văcărescu)

Mișu or Mihail Ion Văcărescu (Francized Michel Vacaresco; 1842 or 1843 – June 12, 1903), most commonly known as Claymoor, was a Wallachian, later Romanian fashion journalist and gossip columnist, the son of poet Iancu Văcărescu. A retired cavalry officer in the Romanian Land Forces, he began writing in his late twenties or early thirties, reaching his fame as a contributor to the Francophone daily L'Indépendence Roumaine. He was widely respected for his verdicts on fashion, and, as an arbiter of taste, contributed to his paper's renown; however, people of his day also ridiculed him for his florid literary style, his political involvement with the Conservative Party, and his homosexuality.

Claymoor's period of prominence, at the height of the Belle Époque, ended with his sudden death. By that time, he had also left a mark as one of Romania's first film critics. Although his almanac was still published, he himself was largely forgotten in the Kingdom of Romania by the end of World War I. Traces of his memory are preserved in disguised portrayals and parodies by writers such as Ion Luca Caragiale and Petru Dumitriu.