The jubilee v the Olympics: summer style war Olympic style: Alexander Wang, Stella McCartney and JW Anderson. Photograph: Getty/Catwalking.com/photomontage Not since the glory days of Blur versus Oasis has British popular culture seen a rivalry like this one. Every British summer needs a headline act - a moment or song or performance that permeates the nation's consciousness in the way that only completely inconsequential news can. Last summer was all about divas in the spotlight: Beyoncé in sequins on the Pyramid stage, Kate Moss with her power entourage of bridesmaids in the Cotswolds. This summer two formidable contenders are going head to head in a battle to define your summer. The jubilee or the Olympics: which side are you on? One of these events is going to influence your style this year, whether you like it or not. Oh, and by the way - this has nothing to do with Union Jack tea towels, or Team GB hoodies, so don't think I'm not talking to you just because you're too sophis to get taken in by merchandise. Because this stuff gets to us all. I realised this on Monday night, when I was watching Andrew Marr talk about the Queen on the TV, while picking through the rubble of pens and hairgrips in the bottom of my handbag in order to transfer my stuff into my new-in-time-for-London-fashion-week handbag, which is a Mulberry Bayswater in patent lemon yellow. Yes, that's right, patent lemon yellow. There I was, lovingly stroking my new bag and silently congratulating myself on the daring, original colour choice, when I noticed that on screen, the Queen was holding a handbag in exactly the same colour. And in the next scene, she was wearing the matching hat. And come to think of it, she wore exactly the same shade to the royal wedding last April. That's the funny thing about fashion: allegiances don't always play out the way you anticipate. I was expecting the Olympic effect, because the Olympics seemed to have the summer in the bag, from a style point of view. I mean, as Edina would no doubt say if she were here, the Olympics is basically young people who work out a lot wearing tight clothes, so that's a win-win right there. Plus, it is happening in east London, and fashion completely hearts everything that happens in east London. Also, I have spent a good part of the past decade watching catwalk shows in which designers experiment with Modern Urban Sportswear. To save you the time, I'll precis: unflattering trousers, an obsession with raincoat-nylon and a zero-tolerance policy on sex appeal. So I wasn't all that surprised to find myself becoming borderline-obsessed with finding the right open-mesh sweater to wear over a contrast-colour vest. Some people have been inspired by the Olympics to, y'know, take up triathlons; I've been inspired to experiment with the aesthetic principle of breathable fabrics in cooldown neutrals layered over team colours. We all have our talents. Jubilee style: the Queen, Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana. Photograph: Rex Features/AFP/Getty/photomontage There is no doubt that the Olympics had a headstart over the jubilee in terms of cool credentials. The posh tracksuit trouser and the high-heeled wedge trainer are flying the flag at street-fashion level. And whoever at Buck House allowed the June celebrations to be dominated by the word's "flotilla" and "river pageant" needs their head examined. "We still think it's the 18th century, says palace," screamed those headlines. Good job, guys. But the spirit of the jubilee is strongly felt in fashion just now. The Prada show introduced a new generation of fashionistas to the concept of the "suite" of jewellery - matching earrings and necklace - which has long been a feature of every properly dressed princess's look. One of the most influential spring fashion collections, by Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, was a pastel-toned celebration of princess-chic: lots of demure daywear in broderie anglaise, worn with neat court shoes and either tiaras or (as a nod to real life) slender diamond-studded hairbands nestled into chic up-dos. One of the trickledown effects on the high street is a preponderance of dressed-up daywear - lightweight duster-coats with contrast collars, or smart knee-length skirts with matching jackets. This is a departure for a fashion industry that for years has focused on selling two extremes of dress code: a slouchy, deliberately worn-in, dressed-down urban uniform for day and a stark alternative of very short, very flashy looks for evening. Smart daywear is the Queen's signature look, of course: she is more recognisable in a matching jacket, skirt and hat than she is in the crown jewels. And as for pastels, which are fashion's big spring story? Her reign has been a 60-year masterclass. The exhibition of Cecil Beaton portraits at the Victoria & Albert museum, which opens this week, will give the jubilee's bid for fashion-domination a boost, with the Beaton name lending style credentials. Fashion loves to fete a forgotten icon, and so the stage is set for a battle royal. May the best dressed win.