I left tiered dresses alone for years, convinced they only worked on women with a particular shape of hip and a particular amount of time to spend getting ready. What changed was a plain cotton one I bought for a holiday almost as an afterthought, thrown on for an early flight, and it turned out to be the only thing in the case that didn't need ironing or thinking about.
They are not a dress for every body or every occasion, and I think it is worth saying that plainly. If you are short, a dress with three or four tiers can cut you into horizontal slices and make legs disappear, especially if the tiers are even widths rather than graduated. Anything with a fitted waist and heavy tiering below it can also add bulk exactly where you might not want it, and in cold weather the whole silhouette can feel like wearing a tent, there is often not much structure to hold heat in or keep wind out, so it is a warm weather shape more than an autumn one. For a formal office or anything that needs a sharp line, I would reach for something else entirely.
Where tiered dresses earn their place is in the fabric and the stitching, because that is where the cheap ones fall apart, sometimes within a single wash. A good one uses a soft, slightly weighty cotton or viscose that drapes rather than stands away from the body, and the seams between tiers are gathered evenly, not bunched in one spot and flat in another. Cheap versions often use a crisp, thin fabric that holds its shape stiffly and looks papery by the second wear, and the gathering is machine bunched so unevenly that one side of the dress sits higher than the other. Check the hem too, a rolled or double stitched hem on each tier will survive a season of sitting down and standing up far better than a raw overlocked edge, which frays quickly.
For fit, go by your bust and shoulders rather than your waist, since most tiered dresses are loose through the middle and the sizing on the label often reflects the widest part of the body it is designed to skim over, not hug. Try sitting down in it before you commit, because a dress that looks fine standing can ride up badly or gape at the neckline once you are seated, and check the armholes, since a lot of tiered styles are cut wide there and show more than intended on a windy day or when you reach for something on a high shelf.
Over time, a well made tiered dress softens rather than wears out. The fabric relaxes, the gathers settle into a shape that is slightly your own, and a few washes in, it stops looking like something new and starts looking like something you have actually lived in, which is exactly the point of the thing.
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